Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows: ‘F— the Haters’

Despite the success of their latest album, ‘Hail to the King,’ which arrived on Aug. 23, Avenged Sevenfold have had to deal with their fair share of detractors, including some trash talk from their peers in the metal world. Most notably, Machine Head’s Robb Flynn a very public dig at A7X, criticizing the band’s authenticity referring to their latest offering as a “covers album.”

Members of the band, including M. Shadows and Zacky Vengeance, have responded to Flynn's accusations in a polite manner for the most part. But in a new interview, M. Shadows had something specific to say about the cynics and haters. And while he doesn't refer to Robb Flynn by name, it's fairly obvious that the Machine Head frontman is at the center of Shadows' new comments.

In a conversation with Metal Hammer, Shadows opens up on the topic. “No other metal band is doing what we’re doing,” he said. “We’ve all heard people in bands who I won’t give any publicity to shouting their mouths off in recent months, but f--- the haters."

He continued in a bit more detail, sharing, “People know that they’ll get more attention by talking sh-- about us and if that’s the way they want to run their bands, that’s fine, but it’s not what we would do. We go out there and kill it every night and you can see what this means to people.”

He’s not kidding. ‘Hail to the King’ sold 159,000 copies its first week, earning Avenged Sevenfold yet another No. 1 Billboard debut. Following in the footsteps of 'Nightmare,' it's helped solidify Avenged Sevenfold's position as one of the most successful rock and metal bands of the modern era.

Check out the video below to watch A7X performing 'Hail to the King' at their recent club gig in Los Angeles (see our exclusive photos of that show here).